


Born to Serve

by sklbug15



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Post-Series, Resurrection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-20
Updated: 2017-04-20
Packaged: 2018-10-21 11:11:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10684098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sklbug15/pseuds/sklbug15
Summary: The former King of Camelot hesitated for a moment before, "Stay with me," he said softly.  Merlin jerked a little at the man's words before nodding.Arthur has come back from the dead and doesn't want Merlin to leave him. Of course Merlin doesn't want to leave him either.





	Born to Serve

He couldn't breathe. His chest felt heavy with lack of oxygen and blue eyes forced themselves open only he still couldn't see. But he could feel. Water was swirling all around him. Instinctively he began kicking, up, up, his hand finally breaking through to the surface, before the rest of him followed. He took in a deep breath before realizing there was yet more water. The rain came down from the heavens like a baptism from the sky.   
He began choking on it, thrashing his arms and legs. Hands reached out for him and he grabbed on, letting himself be directed forward. His feet hit land and he stumbled, arms coming around him, steadying him. The man looked up, blinking water out of his eyes. The person who pulled him from the water looked back, dark hair plastered to his face.   
He shivered and then realized he was naked. A blanket covered his shoulders and he found himself following the person who had saved him through the sheets of cold rain still pouring down from the sky. He realized he knew the person, but the name slipped off his tongue back down his throat and out of his memory. His feet slipped as he made his way through the mud. Slowly he began to realize that the only thing preventing him from falling was the warm hand in his.   
Finally relief came with light and heat and a dry roof. The man looked around, blinking at the light. Things seemed.. off. Different then what he was expecting. He turned to the person with him, the name inching ever closer back to his memory.   
"Arthur," the other man whispered, a smile lighting up his face, his clothes drenched and sticking to him.   
Arthur, that's me, the man thought to himself. Yet, the smile seemed more familiar to him than his own name. He followed this man up the stairs, water and mud showing where they'd been. 

More water. At least this was warm as he sank down into it. He felt something wet and cool drip onto his head. Startled he turned to look. Another smile sent his way, this time in apology as long fingers reached out to run the liquid through his hair. Arthur breathed out. He knew deep down he was safe.   
His friend helped him out of the bath and into warm clothing. Arthur frowned, knowing these clothes weren't his, but they were warm.   
He followed his most trusted friend down a hallway, wondering when their hands had reconnected. He held on a bit tighter as he was led into a room, a bed in the middle.   
"You can stay here. This is your room," his friend said softly. Blue eyes met his, and another smile.   
"Merlin," Arthur finally said.   
"Hey Arthur." Merlin replied, still holding his friend's hand, seemingly as reluctant to let go as the blond was.  
The former King of Camelot hesitated for a moment before, "Stay with me," he said softly. Merlin jerked a little at the man's words before nodding. 

Arthur slid into the bed, eyes not leaving the other man as the sorcerer went and did something to the wall that made the lights go out. He heard the sound of the door closing and footsteps as Merlin returned to the bed and climbed in next to him.   
Despite having just woken from being dead, Arthur's eyes slipped shut, the warmth of Merlin and the sound of the rain soothing him into a restful sleep.   
It was still dark and raining when he woke a few hours later, his heart pounding in his chest. He had dreamt he was dying. Gwen was there, sobbing, as Leon pulled her close soothing her. Arthur couldn't be sure how long he had been dead for, but he knew it was long enough that Gwen was dust long ago. His heart twisted a bit at the thought of his wife. Strange, he would have thought he would be inconsolable. He would have been if something had happened to her when they'd been married. It was almost as if, while he'd been dead, he'd grieved for her and now was ready to move on.   
There was movement from next to him and a soft sound. Arthur turned to look. His eyes adjusting to the darkness the blond could make out Merlin's shape next to him, all thoughts of his deceased wife fleeing his mind. The sounds of rain hitting the roof and thunder in the distance filled his ears for a moment, before the resurrected man moved, his arms pulling his manservant closer to him.   
"You're too far away," he murmured, as Merlin woke and froze at his touch. Then suddenly Merlin relaxed and wrapped his arms around Arthur. "I know the feeling," he said into Arthur's ear.   
"How long has it been?"   
There was a pause, "about 1,500 years," Merlin answered. Arthur pulled back, eyes wide. "Over a thousand years?" he said incredulously. The sorcerer nodded. "And you waited for me all that time?" his hand was on Merlin's cheek now, his thumb stroking the side of his face. A faint memory of someone touching him like that floated in the back of his mind. Merlin, when he was dying, Arthur realized.   
"I was born to serve you," Merlin responded softly and seriously. The response knocked the breath right out of the King.   
Merlin had never said anything like that to him before. (Well just the once, but he had been dying at the time.) That was one of the things Arthur had ending up really liking about him. He hadn't been like others who had fallen all over themselves to impress him, to be on his side. Merlin was honest (except for the whole hiding the fact that he had magic from him), and was more than willing to tell Arthur when he was being stupid. Now, Merlin was here telling him he had waited for him for over a thousand years because he was born to serve him.   
Arthur stared at the brunet for a long moment, before snapping. He crashed his lips to Merlin's breathing him in, pulling his body flat against his own. The other man responded eagerly, hands roaming all over, before pulling away for a moment to take his clothes off. Arthur followed, his mind in a daze. Then they crashed back together, bare skin touching, nerves alight.   
He had been dead for over a thousand years, but hours after his resurrection he had never felt more alive.   
Things were happening fast and before Arthur knew it, Merlin was on top of him, was in him and they were moving together, hot and sticky, and the blond reached up to wipe the tears off his former servant's cheeks.   
"I shouldn't be surprised you cry through sex, should I," Arthur gasped out between moans. Merlin paused in his movements, leaving the other to regret his comment. He smiled down at his King softly before wiping away the dampness on his cheek. "It appears I'm not the only one," he said with a chuckle that turned into a sob. Arthur's own grin turned into tears. "I missed you," he admitted. Merlin bowed his head. "I missed you," he said back. He lifted his head and Arthur could see his watery eyes. Just as the king opened his mouth to make a snarky remark, Merlin rolled his hips, reminding him just what they were in the middle of.   
"Fuck, Merlin," he moaned. Said man began moving again, faster than before, until they both were sated.   
Arthur curled up next to Merlin as the latter held him. He sighed as his servant pressed kisses to his head. "Whatever you need, whatever you want, I am yours," Merlin said into his forehead after another kiss. Arthur shifted so he could look at him, blue eyes meeting his. "I was born to serve you," he said again. The King kissed his servant deeply before pulling back.   
"Right now I need you to shut up so I can sleep in your arms," Arthur responded. Merlin grinned. "Clotpole," he said back, before falling silent. Both drifted off into sleep again.


End file.
